ESCONDIDO COUNCIL HALTS RED-LIGHT CAMERAS

ESCONDIDO 
The City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to rip out the city’s red-light cameras, joining a long list of cities that have eliminated the unpopular devices.

While Escondido’s contract with Redflex Traffic Systems of Phoenix doesn’t expire until December, Police Chief Craig Carter said the city would stop issuing red-light camera tickets immediately based on the council’s action.

San Diego and El Cajon ended their red-light camera programs in February, and Poway followed suit in March. Other cities in San Diego County with red-light cameras include Oceanside, Vista, Encinitas, Solana Beach and Del Mar.

Escondido has been losing roughly $150,000 per year on its program as the number of citations has steadily dwindled, from 6,500 in 2007 to about 3,000 last year.

Meanwhile, a sharp drop in collisions after the program began in 2004 has flattened out in recent years.

“As the cameras became more effective, we kept losing more money,” Councilman Ed Gallo said.

Councilwoman Olga Diaz, who has lobbied her colleagues to eliminate the cameras for years, said they are a failed idea because cities slowly lose the element of surprise.

“People learn where they are and adjust,” she said.

In addition, a new state law forced Escondido to sign a flat-fee camera contract in 2008 instead of receiving a portion of each fine, shifting the financial risk from the camera company to the city.

Julie Procopio, Escondido’s assistant director of public works, said a federal study showed that red-light cameras are less effective at reducing collisions than several other strategies the city plans to explore.